Cambodia vs United Kingdom · Real-time payment systems compared
| Capability | Bakong | Faster Payments |
|---|---|---|
| QR Code Payments | ✓ | — |
| Wallet Support | ✓ | — |
| 24/7 Availability | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cross-Border | ✓ | — |
| ISO 20022 | — | ✓ |
| Request to Pay | — | ✓ |
| Open API | ◐ | ◐ |
| Alias/Proxy | ✓ | — |
Cambodia's national payment platform launched by the National Bank of Cambodia in October 2020, built on a permissioned Hyperledger Iroha DLT with an integrated central-bank-issued digital tenge equivalent in both KHR and USD. Bakong enables 24/7 interbank fund transfers, QR-code retail payments via the KHQR standard, and P2P transfers. Notable for its dual-currency design (aimed at supporting the government's promotion of the riel in a heavily dollarised economy) and its extensive cross-border interoperability with Thailand's PromptPay, Laos' LAPNet, Vietnam's NAPAS and India's UPI.
The UK's core instant payment system handling bank-to-bank transfers up to £1M, with most payments arriving in seconds. Originally launched with a £10K limit in 2008, it was one of the world's first real-time retail payment systems. Settles via the Bank of England's RTGS system with net deferred settlement. Managed by Pay.UK, the FPS rail also processes standing orders and forward-dated payments, but the data shown here covers Single Immediate Payments only — the real-time component. The New Payments Architecture (NPA) programme is modernising FPS with ISO 20022 messaging.